Here are the latest stats from the Brewer’s Association : “As of June 30, a record high of 4,656 breweries were operating in the U.S, an increase of 917 breweries over the same time period of the previous year. Additionally, there were approximately 2,200 breweries in planning.”
917 breweries in a year! That is a big number for a maturing marketplace. If my scratchpad math is right, that is right around 20% more.
The other positive number is that there are still way more openings than closings. Even with a decrease in growth to 8%, there hasn’t been any major bloodletting.
Next, onto the “in planning” number. I would like to know specifically the criteria for this one. Are there tiers to it? Long-term in planners who have been on the list for years or are these all new since the last number? I would like to see a breakout of this category because closing numbers are one negative indicator but the first one will be the drying up of the pipeline. But if the pipeline numbers are wonky, well then we may not know till later that the tide has turned.
Anyhoo, check out the video. If nothing else, with Bart Watson on board, we are getting a steady stream of data to parse.